Cabbage

Ok, I have to admit that while I like cabbage and consider it a very versatile vegetable, it isn’t something I consider discussing for any real amount of time. And yet, the cutest thing happened last week about…yes, cabbage.

Elie came home on Thursday and did the weekly shopping. As he often does, he called to clarify several items. He’s an intelligent shopper. He weighs prices and decides what offers the best deal, but knows when I have a preference for a particular brand (even if the price isn’t the lowest). He remembers other things we might be missing, or things that catch his eye.

He called me from the store after noting that I’d listed one white cabbage.

“Ima, you haven’t made stuffed cabbage in years.” He said.

“Do you want me to make stuffed cabbage?” I answered back.

“Yes, you haven’t made it in years,” he said again and then confirmed what other items he might need to purchase.

So, on Friday, as I was cooking the soup and the fish, the chicken and the vegetables, cutting up the cucumber for cucumber salad and the expected cabbage for two kinds of cole slaw, I also boiled the second cabbage and made stuffed cabbage. And then, Elie explained.

He’d been at the checkpoint last week and an Arab driving a truck pulled up. Although the actual responsibility for checking the individuals passing through falls mostly to border security, Elie is in charge of overall security and often “takes a peek.” When the Arab opened the back of his truck to be inspected, Elie saw HUGE cabbages.

“What are those?” Elie asked the Arab.

“Cabbages,” was the answer.

“They’re huge,” Elie said needlessly. “What do you do with them?”

“Stuff them,” the Arab replied before closing the door and going on his way. It’s funny how things happen. Seeing those cabbages had Elie thinking about my stuffed cabbage and though it hadn’t been my plan for this weekend, I starting trying to remember the last time I made it and, sure enough, it seems it has been a long time. Mostly, I make it around the holiday of Simchat Torah in the Fall. Elie hasn’t been home for that holiday for the last few years and knowing that it’s something he likes, I didn’t make it.

I guess it never clicked to make it any other time and so it was a treat this week to bring it to the table and have everyone enjoy it so much. Elie’s already back on base, sent back with a container of chocolate-chip covered cupcakes and a kiss on his cheek and a hug to get him through the weeks until he comes home again.

Can you please post your recipe for stuffed cabbage? I just today got three cabbages that someone gave me out of their greenhouse. I LOVE cabbage (and brussel sprouts) but three cabbages are overwhelming. I’d make cole slaw but nobody likes it but me. Stuffed cabbage, OTOH, might go over big.

We are a democratic country; so much so, we allow our enemies into our government and from the podium of our parliament, they have the freedom to call for policies that would destroy us.
Our current enemies, those who pose the most immediate threat lie to our north. This is Hizbollah land, where according to their leader Hassan Nasrallah, “We have discovered how to hit the Jews where they are the most vulnerable. The Jews love life, so that is what we shall take away from them. We are going to win, because they love life and we love death.”
Our enemies lie to the northeast. This is Syria. My sons have spent many months on the Golan Heights, including some tense days waiting to see how the Syrians would react after Israel sent planes to destroy a building widely believed to be the beginnings of a nuclear reactor. My oldest son fought near Gaza to help stop the rockets from being fired against Israel.
Our enemies lie further to the east. This is Iran, led by fanatics who promise that they will do all they can to accomplish in a few minutes more than what Adolf Hitler accomplished in six years of war. The Iranian leadership has made it clear in words and actions that they are after a nuclear bomb and that their goal is to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Believe them.